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Ranch owner run over by tractor in Wyoming.

An 87 year old male ranch owner died in the emergency room of an out of state hospital after having been run over by a tractor in an preventable early morning incident at a rural ranch near the border of the state. The victim had been riding to the loading site with a hired hand, and was opening and closing gates while the hired hand drove through them. The prescribed procedure was for the victim to remain in the pickup while the hired hand forked hay from the stack to the feeding area, and for a dog to keep the cattle away from the stack. At the time of the incident, the victim was behind the loader as it backed from the hay stack, and was trapped under the tires, crushing his upper torso and head. On realizing that an injury had occurred, the hired hand drove the pickup a mile down the road to where the victim's son was feeding, and the son stopped at a nearby phone to call 911 for the nearest ambulance location (estimated as an 8 - 10 minute drive). The ambulance service responded to the scene within 10 minutes of notification. The victim was transported to an out-of-state hospital 50 miles from the incident scene, arriving more than an hour after the incident had occurred, and was pronounced dead in the emergency room a half hour later. Employers may be able to minimize the potential for occurrence of this type of incident through the following precautions: 1. Concern for good visibility and/or back-up warning devices on home-made machinery. 2. Established emergency procedures for farm/ranch injuries. 3. Reminders to elderly ranching family members of the increased hazards that accompany age.